andrewdearman

Dear All,

I'm new here and am seriously considering a 997 without breaking the bank. I'd really like a C4 (not fussed about the C4S) and a Targa even better, but a C4 Coupe is the car I'm really after. I was hoping to spend around the $30k mark, but am having trouble finding one.

There are a couple of C2's on Autotrader (see below) but for this money will the car have issues? Any views on C2 vs C4? And am probably going to go auto due to the wife wanting to drive it now and again. Would really appreciate the thoughts of you guys out there before I start this journey....

Balr14

I prefer the C2 over the C4. These are pretty old cars that cost a lot to fix and maintain. The less mechanical complexity, the less potential failures. There is the issue of the the IMS that has to considered, in either case.

Steph1

I don't blame you for prefering a 4 to a 2, they are much sexier, especially in person.

As for maintenance, a good final drive fluid change would take care of making sure all is well and running, since that system is pretty much bomb proof unlike the PDKs, that were considered as such, but have started proving otherwise once they were old enough to start failing...

Personally , I wanted a 4 too and didn't care for an S either. If the car I found would have been an S, of course I would have still have purchased it, but I really didn't mind wether or not it was one. Especially after driving it for a bit and confirming that even as a non-S, it is way more powerful than I need or care to push to its limits. It is nothing short of a blast to drive.

Good luck, take your time and get a good PPI.

Cheers

TopKatz

Dont the cars look nearly idneticle?

Steph1

Key word "nearly". A trained eye will spot a 4 over a 2 everytime, and the difference is obvious when both are side by side......

It's like bra size... a C cup is curvy and looks very nice, but put em side by side with Double D's, and suddenly the C cup is absent !!!!! That is considering that both cars are in the same condition of course.

TheBruce

Welcome. Buying a good 997 around the 30k mark is definitely possible. I picked up my C2 with 40k miles for $32. It was a no brainer and been worth every penny.

You can get a lot of value on the C2. The C4 definitely has better looking hips but is a tad slower and heavier steering. To each his own.

A couple things to consider:

1. Tiptronic - i would caution against the automatic in the 997.1 Its not much loved. If you really want an auto get a 997.2 with PDK. Thats an amazing piece of tech but the Tip in the .1s is not much loved and will hurt your resale substantially. I think you will be a lot happier over the long haul teaching your wife how to drive stick. She may not even like the car and then your stuck with a Tip...

2. 19" Wheels - if you are going to go for a c2 or c4 I would limit your search to cars with the optional 19" wheels. The 18s that come on the base C2 look pretty flaccid and you are looking at a couple grand to swap them out.

3 C4s - C4s are usually purchased in cold climates so you have two areas of additikonal risk: rust and increased chance of bore scoring. Ive seen pictures of 997s driven in the snow and salt roads and the engine looks like ****.

andrewdearman

I was hoping for a very low maintenance car. Do you think I'm kidding myself here? I had a classic once and it was ALWAYS in the shop, so I want a car I know will always start. Would you advise taking it to a garage to check out before going ahead with a purchase?

TheBruce

Hi - the 997 is a very reliable car. Ive put 30k miles on mine as a daily driver and I just calculated my maintenance and repair at $0.21 a mile, or $5800 over 2.5yrs. That included 1.5 sets of tires, a clutch, brakes, a starter cable, a new expansion tank, oil changes, air filters, alignments, bits and pieces, etc. However I do most all the work myself. If I had taken it to a dealer that bill could have been 3X that, or $17k. To have a long and happy relationship with your 997 you...

1. MUST get a repurchase inspection (PPI) from a reputable Porsche mechanic. This will cost you $200-400. I would spent more for an older car. The guys that dont are the ones that end up posting on this forum a few months later about some catastrophic issue.

2. Find a local indy mechanic who has a good rep in the 911 community and you feel comfortable with. Taking this age of car to a dealer is asking to be robbed.

3. Get comfortable working on the car yourself. They are very easy to work on and tons on online resources and guys here that can help. The simple math is this: the parts for your avg repair costs $100, the avg indy will charge you 5-10x that, and the avg dealer will charge you 10-15x that.

Let me pull up the PPI list you want to check from another post I made a few days ago.

Petza914

The 997 is very reliable, but these are 10 year old high-performance cars, and aren't Toyotas or Nissans. If you think you're going to buy it and just get in, start it and drive it for 3 years without spending any money on maintenance, that's an inaccurate assumption. Averaging 10-15k miles per year, over 3 years, you're going to go through $1,500 in tires (2 sets of rears and maybe a set of fronts), will likely need to replace the water pump, will probably need to do plugs and coils, and there could be some other things that come up, like a clutch if a MT, coolant tank replacement, etc. If you DIY your own work, they are very affordable cars to keep and drive. If you pay $150/hour at a dealer for this type of work, they are not.

The S cars have a better stance (lower suspension), larger wheels and brakes, more torque in the range where you'll use it every day, the PASM suspension that gives you the building block for TPC's DSC box. and better resale value. 4S or 2S is your choice, but the steering feel of the RWD cars is more pure - the AWD cars feel heavier and have a greater tendency to push in corners (understeer). If it's a DD and you drive in bad weather frequently, the AWD makes sense.

andrewdearman

I was thinking the purchase inspection from a Porsche mechanic was what I needed, this confirms it. Thanks so much

andrewdearman

thanks. This was what I was thinking. I'm not expecting a Nissan, but I had a 1973 Alfa GTV 2000 with bad electrics for 2yrs and that tested my sanity, even with a good mechanic. I could never go back to that....

Steph1

Your experience with an Alfa, was mine with Land Rovers.....

But they aren't the same beasts... Get a proper PPI to confirm you are safe, and do all the preventative maintenance before you start sitting back and relaxing.... so all the fluids, water pump, idler pulleys, serpentine belt, motor mounts, coil packs and plugs etc.... all need to be replaced preventatively. If you are lucky, or at least luckier than me, you will find all that was done in the last few years and might be happy to find that some of these things have been done already, avoiding un-necessary expenses.

You have to be ready and accept that you might very well be changing stuff that arent originals and did not need to be replaced. But that is the price to pay for peace of mind.

So consider some $3-5k for that and enjoy your dream come true.👍